Otherwise known as senile keratosis, senile warts, seborrheic verruca, seborrheic warts, barnacles, brown warts, or basal cell papilloma, a seborrheic keratosis refers to a certain kind of skin growth. Usually benign, seborrheic keratoses commonly appear as a person ages.
The skin growths caused by seborrheic keratosis vary in color. The colors they appear in range between light tan to darker shades of black. The shape of these growths is typically round or oval. The lesions will feel like elevated scabs once you try to feel. Seborrheic keratoses are often small in size and can look like warts. However, seborrheic keratosis is not viral in origin. Cysts may appear embedded into the growths. Since seborrheic keratoses can resemble melanoma skin cancer, one should immediately have a biopsy done when they see such lesions on their skin.
Oftentimes, treatment of seborrheic keratosis is not at all that vital. This is because seborrheic keratosis has been proven to be commonly benign. There is only a little amount of risk from infected localized lesions caused by scratching. If the itching becomes unbearable, cryosurgery must be employed to get rid of the lesions. Lesions like this can be irritated because of the clothing a patient wears or even their jewelry.
For the smaller lesions, light electrocautery can be used to treat them. The bigger, more stubborn lesions have to undergo other methods. For these lesions, one can use electrodessication and curettage, and cryotherapy.
Still another method of seborrheic keratosis treatment is the use of liquid nitrogen. By means of the liquid nitrogen, one might freeze a seborrheic keratosis. This method using liquid nitrogen, however, can cause scarring. Unless your skin is prone to developing keloids, the scar you will get will usually be just flat. Shaving off the skin lesions might also be another alternative way. A flexible razor blade may be used to do this job. The blade is used to shave off the lesions while not harming the skin.
Causes for seborrheic keratosis are still not completely identified or clear. Since it has been observed that seborrheic keratosis appears on the body’s most sun-exposed areas, ultraviolet light may be one factor that can cause this kind of keratosis. Seborrheic keratosis has been known to appear the arms, face, back, and neck the most often. A person’s genetics has also been seen as one of the likely causes of seborrheic keratoses. Whatever its cause, seborrheic keratosis is something one should not be too worried about.
